Captain Kid’s orchestral pop has elements of classical pieces. The music makes the wind and string instruments twirl, as well as those of harpsichord, ukulele, guitar, bass and drums. The longing to weave together all the music in Sébastien Sigault’s life, the captain, is combined with a desire to please women.

Not Reliable Captain Kid 67 songs (Discograph) 2012 Listen

We and I, the first single from 67 songs, was initially meant as a gift from Sébastien to his girlfriend. It wasn’t to be. The future hit song was too lively to remain locked up in the couple’s intimacy. Today, this short piece of just over two minutes needs a safe to hold all the praise that has been heaped on it. The song was used in an advertisement, and Captain Kid became known everywhere. Not only was it a stroke of luck, but also a stroke of genius which helped fill the coffers, and in a comfortable studio, they put the finishing touches to something very beautiful. 67 songs was conceived like a painting by a master, a canvas clearly influenced by 60s and 70s British pop and American folk, where the author-composer and interpreter also succeeds in conveying a definite idea of French romanticism.
 
Triumphant pop epic
 
Captain Kid surrounded himself with a magical quartet of musicians on the road to his triumphant pop epic; he forgot neither Scott Walker nor Neil Hannon, and he took on-board Julien Ribot as copilot of his pop ship. The two young guys connected and Sébastien Sigault ended up asking Julien Ribot to arrange and realize the album. “When I saw the work he’d done for others (Kahimi Karie, Orly Chap…), I asked him to do the same thing for me.”
 
Romain Clisson, the sound engineer, contributed towards selecting the instruments, and to sound and tone. “I dreamed about making the album this way. I’m very proud of it and everyone really got involved. The recording conditions were superb.”
 

© DR

Captain Kid and head of label
 
Captain Kid’s elegance is found in the perfect harmony between instruments. The harpsichord in Sad Waltz snorts before giving way to a harp and violin. Yet the sound is pop-rock. Captain Kid and his team succeeded in capturing moments of grace by going to a harpsichord maker’s shop and recording the instrument in its natural element. “We had a laptop, preamps, and the harpsichord parts were recorded there,” Captain Kid likes repeating.
 
Sébastien Sigault swops his Captain Kid cap for a moment for that of head of label, aware of the opportunity he has. “I know that lots of very good new groups, like us, couldn’t make a career of it. That’s why I created Savoury Snacks. This label enables me to find a distributor and to carry on making records, as I wish. And the work’s only just started; we’re continuing with Jérôme Pichon’s first EP who played and wrote lyrics for 67 songs.” (One of the nice surprises of the album is the song Nolita. Jérôme also collaborates with RFI Music.)
 
Captain Kid 67 songs (Savoury Snacks/Discograph) 2012
13 June: Concert in Paris at Divan du Monde
 
Translation: A-M Harper